Made for a woman: New cannabis spray debuts in Aspen this week

Foria's marketing material touts the product as an enhancer for women's sex lives. It makes its Colorado debut in Aspen recently when Native Roots opens its recreational cannabis dispenary on South Hunter Street.

When Native Roots opens its sixth Colorado recreational cannabis dispensary in Aspen this week, psychoactive products won't be the only items on its menu. On Friday, the chain will debut its Foria product geared exclusively toward women.

Foria is a THC-infused lube that doesn't get its users high; rather, women who apply it are purported to have a much more fulfilling and enjoyable sex experience.

So says Mat Gerson, Foria's wellness director, who splits time between Colorado and California, where the product was launched initially on the medical cannabis market.

"This has been definitely the most interesting business story of my life," said the Boulder native, who also co-founded Sir Richard's condoms.

While it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, Gerson said, Foria is the "female Viagra."

"It creates sensation and sensitivity," he said. "And it helps them have a deeper orgasm for some reason. That's been the consistent feedback we've gotten from users. Women try it, and they find it effective."

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Native Roots will make the product in Colorado, Gerson said. Its new recreational shop opens at 308 S. Hunter St. the same week the Winter X Games come to town. Gerson said the company will market the product in Aspen all week — cannabis is forbidden during at the event — with literature and promotional material.

Gerson said the target consumers are the "about 50 percent of women in our culture who have challenges in their intimate lives."

Initially, plans were for Foria to be rolled out in Aspen near Valentine's Day. But Thursday's opening of Native Roots accelerated the Friday launch.

"There are 26 FDA-approved drugs on the market for men with similar challenges," Gerson said. "There's really not much on the market for women. It's proving to be extremely effective for women on a broad scale. Women in long-term partnership with their partners are finding a new spark."

Another version of cannabis strictly for women created a buzz last week with reports of Bethany Frankel, of "Real Housewives of New York City" fame and the founder of the Skinnygirl label, launching a Skinny Girl marijuana product. The cannabis wouldn't produce symptoms such as the munchies, thus adhering to the Skinnygirl theme.

Frankel was spotted in Aspen last month at the Green Dragon recreational shop on the Hyman Avenue mall. On Dec. 20, she tweeted: "OMG it's the craziest thing to see marijuana legal in Aspen. People walking into pot stores like it's the @Gap #prohibitiondone."